Pursuing the Presence of God

By Chris & Jennie Orange

Pursuing the Presence of God, the new book by Chris and Jennie Orange, is a journey of discovery, giving insight into how we, as worshippers, may mine the depths of God's presence and carry it with us in life and ministry. Written to inspire worship leaders, their teams and those who simply wish to go deeper in worship, this book reveals some of the keys to living in the presence of God and leading others effectively into His courts where they may see the face of their Saviour, Jesus Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chris & Jennie Orange
• Release date: Jan 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9780956390202

Chris & Jennie Orange

Chris and Jennie are worship leaders based in London at Ichthus Christian Fellowship where they oversee the worship teams. They have a website where they provide an online worship resource for training with free videos, sheet music and CDs. Visit their website at www.aloudervoice.com.

Book preview

PURSUING THE PRESENCE OF GOD

The Journey of a Worshipper

by

Chris and Jennie Orange

Copyright © 2009 Chris and Jennie Orange

First published in 2009 by aloudervoice

Pursuing the Presence of God by Chris and Jennie Orange

Published by aloudervoice

c/o Ichthus Christian Fellowship

7 Greenwich Quay Clarence Road London

SE8 3EY

http://www.aloudervoice.com

The right of Chris and Jennie Orange to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying. In the UK such licences are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE

The details on page 102 constitute an extension of this copyright page

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-0-9563902-0-2

Cover and text design: Santamaria Design Consultants

167 Southwood Lane, Highgate, London N6 5TA

[e-mail]

Editorial: Jenny Page

Smashwords edition

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This book is dedicated to Wes Sutton, father and mentor, who taught us to love His presence

The wonder of the cross

Our Saviour crucified

His mercy reaching out to us

Redeeming sacrifice

Who can comprehend

The burden that He bore

Carrying our sin and shame

To bring us near to God

Contents

Foreword by Dr Gregory A. Boyd

Foreword by Faith Forster

The Journey Begins

Introduction

1 Preparing for His Presence: Total Surrender

2 A Heart for His Presence

3 Gifts for His Presence

4 Pursuing His Presence

5 Together for His Presence: Team Dynamics

6 Ministering His Presence: Spiritual Dynamics in Worship

7 Covered by His Presence

8 Leading Worship: Practical Steps

A Meditation

Foreword

by Dr Gregory A. Boyd

Several times over the last eight years I have had the privilege of ministering in services at which Chris and Jennie Orange led worship. In all honesty, I have rarely sensed the presence of God as tangibly and with such power as I have in these services. It’s not because these two people are such gifted musicians and singers, though they certainly are that. It’s because they know what worship is all about.

It’s not about the music. It’s not about singing. It’s not even primarily about the lyrics. It’s about coming into the presence of God. The art of worship-leading is about knowing how to use music, singing and lyrics to help usher others into God’s presence. I know of no one who does this better than Chris and Jennie Orange, and I’m absolutely ecstatic that they have now felt led to put their insights into this little book to help other worship leaders.

How desperately the church today needs the biblical, spiritual and practical insights contained in this book! Far too many congregations treat worship like a nice ‘sing-along’ or, even worse, as a time to enjoy a musical performance. Too many others view worship as something Christians are just ‘supposed to do’ once a week because this is what the church has always done. Most people in these churches have no idea how much of the vibrant life of God they are missing because of this.

As Chris and Jennie so profoundly understand, worship is the heartbeat of the church! As worship goes, so the church goes. Things happen in worship that simply cannot happen anywhere else. True worship leads us into God’s presence, and it’s here where our head knowledge about God becomes a transforming experience of God. When we come into God’s presence through worship, the Spirit can begin removing the cataracts from our spiritual eyes so that we can behold the glory of Jesus Christ more clearly, and be transformed into his image more completely (2 Corinthians 3 vs 17–18). When we come into God’s presence through worship, the Spirit can begin to melt the calluses that often form around our hearts so that we can sense God’s love more profoundly, experience his peace more sweetly and enjoy his goodness more intensely.

Yet, by God’s own design, the quality of a congregation’s worship largely hinges on the giftedness and anointing of the worship leader. In this book, leaders will find indispensable biblical insights into the nature of worship, an abundance of spiritual disciplines that must characterise a worship leader and a wealth of experience- filled suggestions on confronting common challenges in worship-leading. Most importantly, if this book is taken to heart and read prayerfully, I believe worship leaders will find their own passion to enter God’s presence rekindled. They will be stirred never to settle but instead always to hunger for more of God’s presence. Because wherever we and our congregation may be at in terms of the depth and passion of our worship, there always remains more of God to know, experience and love.

My prayer is that God use this labour of love on the part of Chris and Jennie to equip and inspire a multitude of worship leaders to usher people into the tangible, sweet and powerful reality of God’s presence.

Dr Gregory A. Boyd Senior Pastor, Woodland Hills Church, St Paul, Minnesota, USA, author of The Myth of a Christian Nation,

Letters from a Skeptic and God at War

http://www.gregboyd.org

Foreword

by Faith Forster

Chris and Jennie Orange came to Ichthus in 2002 as part of our mentoring programme, Radical Network. They stayed on to take up the mantle of worship leaders for the Ichthus movement, and have been a blessing and an inspiration to us ever since. In return, they have found fruitfulness in their lives and ministry. They came at a time of turmoil and difficulty for us